Sheldon Keefe touches on the opportunity that Ilya Samsonov has ahead of him with Matt Murray sidelined
With Matt Murray out until at least the second week of November, the Leafs will depend on Ilya Samsonov to take the reins as the number one goalie. Murray injured his abductor at the game day skate on Saturday morning and it seems worse than it first appeared.
While Samsonov has given up a couple of soft goals, he has made saves when the team needed him to and currently has a GAA of 2.00 and has a combined .925 SV% through two games. Samsonov took a 1-year deal with the Leafs because he wanted to prove himself as a number one guy and now he has the opportunity to do so with Murray out.
"This is why he signed here.. for opportunity. He's on a bit of a mission this season and now the door is really open there for him. We're going to have to lean on him probably more than we would have," Keefe said of Samsonov's prove it deal and the opportunity with Murray out.
Erik Kallgren will back up Samsonov for the most part, but is also expected to see some game action. The Leafs welcome the Coyotes to SBA on Monday and Dallas Thursday before heading out on their annual California road trip. It's unclear how the starts will be split between Samsonov and Kallgren, but I'd imagine we'll see Samsonov get the lion's share of the work.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 16 | 423 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe touches on the opportunity that Ilya Samsonov has ahead of him with Matt Murray sidelined Do you have faith in Ilya Samsonov as a starter? | ||
| Yes | 277 | 65.5 % |
| No | 40 | 9.5 % |
| We'll find out soon if he is a true #1 | 106 | 25.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
